New York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens – NYR wins 3-1, NYR leads series 2-0
Of course, the big news for the Canadiens heading in to the game would be the loss of goalie Carey Price for the rest of the series. Price suffered an injury in Game 1 after a collision with New York forward Chris Kreider and left the game after the second period. In his place, call-up goalie Dustin Tokarski would get the start in net rather than regular back-up Peter Budaj.
On another lineup note, injured forward Alex Galchenyuk would return for Montreal and take the place of Michael Bournival in the lineup. If Montreal hoped to stay in this series, it would be up to Tokarski to maintain the level that Price had set through the playoffs. A tall task, to say the least. Also, it would be up to Galchenyuk and other depth players from the Habs to keep up with the depth from New York. From New York, Derick Brassard would be a scratch for the Rangers. His four goals was a part of the depth from New York that had served them so well to this point of the playoffs. The pressure to score would be back on Rick Nash, who notched his first of the playoffs in Game 1. If Nash could get hot, he could make up for the loss of just about any forward on their roster.
With Montreal up 1-0 in the first period after a goal from Max Pacioretty, the first test for Tokarski would come in the form of an unfortunate goal. A point shot by Ryan McDonagh deflected off of Josh Gorges and past Tokarski to tie the game 1-1. The young netminder would have to put the bad bounce behind him and keep focus on every play, easier said than done in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Rangers’ second goal would come on a 3-on-2 where Tokarski couldn’t get over fast enough and a Nash shot banked off Tokarski’s arm and in. It was likely a saveable puck, it was pretty much shot at the middle of the net. Tokarski was just a little slow getting to his right. It was a tough second goal for Tokarski, and it was a sign that with two goals in two games that Nash’s bounces were starting to go his way.
The Rangers would score their third goal on the power play, an absolute laser one-timer from Martin St. Louis that was perfectly placed in the top glove corner past Tokarski. That would be all the Rangers needed on this night as Henrik Lundqvist shut the door the rest of the way, saving 40 of 41 shots for the win.
It was fitting that the game-winning goal for the Rangers was scored by Nash on a shot that Tokarski probably should have had. Nash had zero goals on 52 shots through the first two rounds but had two goals on four shots in the first two games of this round. Goal scorers can be streaky and sometimes the bounces don’t go their way. It’s easy to forget Claude Giroux of Philadelphia had zero goals on 31 shots through 15 games to start the regular season. He had three goals on his next 26 shots and finished the season with 28, earning a Hart Trophy nomination along the way. If Nash is getting hot, it’s bad news for Montreal for the rest of the series.
Nash finished the game with at 57.1-percent CorsiFor, best among the Rangers’ non-fourth liners.
*as always, thanks to Extra Skater for the fantastic resource
